Legislation implementing budgetary steps laid out by Curtis Dickinson, the finance minister, has been tabled to go into effect later this year.

The Land Tax Amendment Bill 2019, tabled yesterday in the House, will come into effect on July 1, 2019 if approved.

The Bill is aimed at tourist units such as hotels, cottage colonies and guesthouses, but excludes vacation rental units. On top of a base charge of $300, the Bill imposes charges based on the property’s annual rental value, with a special rate for properties inside Economic Empowerment Zones.

The Financial Services Tax Amendment Act 2019 will impose an extra tax on banks and domestic insurers — although health insurance and the Government’s own insurance gets a pass. However, additional landholding charges that had been scheduled to take effect on March 31 this year have been deferred another two years, under the Bermuda Immigration and Protection (Landholding Charges) Amendments Regulations 2019.

Also tabled was the amendment to hike the foreign currency purchase tax from 1 per cent to 1.25 per cent, and Bills extending customs duty relief to hotels and restaurants to 2024.